A federal court on Wednesday ruled that local authorities wrongly forbade political activists from gathering candidate-petition signatures at Fort Hunter Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Last June, the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania’s candidate for State House District 104, Dave Kocur, worked alongside party board member Kevin Gaughen in asking park visitors to sign petitions to get Kocur on the ballot. Park security guards directed them to stop. After the activists refused, citing their constitutional right to free expression in a public forum, Dauphin County Parks Director Anthea Stebbins ordered them to cease, explaining that the county disallows any political activity at Fort Hunter.
That autumn, the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) took up Kocur and Gaughen’s case, insisting that the county end its prohibition on political speech at the park. The jurisdiction responded that “Fort Hunter Park is not open to political activity – by anyone!” In January, FIRE named Stebbins and Dauphin County defendants in a lawsuit that Judge Christopher Conner of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania resolved in his ruling on Wednesday.
Conner determined that Dauphin County’s Parks and Recreation Department must allow petition gathering and similar political activism to comply with the First Amendment’s free-speech guarantee.
“WHEREAS, Plaintiffs have engaged and intend in the future to engage in political speech in Fort Hunter Park, a public park operated by Dauphin County and a traditional public forum for protected speech [and] WHEREAS, Defendants have maintained a policy and practice of banning all political activity in Fort Hunter Park… Defendants… are PERMANENTLY ENJOINED AND PROHIBITED from enforcing any policy or practice that bans all political activity in Fort Hunter Park,” the judge wrote. (Caps in the original.)
Dauphin County is also paying plaintiffs a $91,000 settlement. In a statement, FIRE characterized the case’s conclusion as an overdue recognition of the protection the U.S. Constitution affords all free citizens.
“It shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit for Dauphin County to open their parks to political activity,” FIRE attorney Conor Fitzpatrick said. “Thanks to Kevin and Dave, Pennsylvanians can now talk politics in Fort Hunter Park without fear of government censorship.”
Gaugen expressed gratitude to FIRE for fighting on his and Kocur’s behalf.
“This victory isn’t just a victory for Dave and me, it’s a victory for everyone in Dauphin County,” he said. “When the county government wouldn’t back down, FIRE sued on our behalf. It was very reassuring to have FIRE in our corner.”
In an email, Dauphin County Deputy Chief Clerk Stephen Libhart said that while the jurisdiction has “reversed its policy in recognition that it was unconstitutional,” the orders originally given to Kocur and Gaughen reflected the wishes of the park’s original benefactors. The site was donated by the family of Margaret Wister Meigs in 1980; the family donated an additional 153-acre wooded conservancy in 1986.
“The county remains committed to operating its public parks and other public properties in a manner that is both constitutional and respectful of Dauphin County’s rich history,” Libhart wrote. “That balance was evident in this case, as the county strove to adhere to the express wishes of the family that donated Fort Hunter Park in 1980 for the benefit of the residents of Dauphin County in perpetuity. It is also important to note that Director Stebbins was merely enforcing the county’s policy; she has been and remains a trusted guardian of our parks system and valued employee.”
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Pennsylvania Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Fort Hunter Park” by Chesapeake Bay Program. CC BY-NC 2.0.
